Sweet and Spicy
by RubyBelle
Summary: Zack can't handle spicy foods so Cloud tries to change himself for him. ZackxCloudxLeon


**allergy warnings:** shonen-ai/boys love (call it what you want, i don't CARE), a little bit of angst and bleh.

**a/n: **was going to be made and published on august 19th--cloud's birthday--but i didn't do it. bleh. (what is he, 28 now?) whatever. here's a story i made in record time of you with zack AND you with leon. enjoy, you emo slut, you.

**Sweet and Spicy

* * *

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"_You don't like sweets?"_

_The words were soft but utterly curious. I eyed his plate carefully, noticing that, yes, he indeed did _not_ eat the sweeter-than-usual pancakes that the pleasant waitress had given us. He barely looked up from his plate as he spoke._

"_Nah," Zack shrugged, scooping another forkful of eggs into his mouth. "Too much for me. I like spicy stuff better."_

_I pursed my lips. "Oh," I muttered, looking back on my plate. I'd only eaten the pancakes so far. "Guess that's one more thing I'll have to change."_

_I felt a soft tapping on my head and looked up. Zack was staring at me, grinning crookedly, his hand, balled into a fist, held beside my face. I felt my face blush stupidly as I stared into his amazingly beautiful azure eyes. _

"_Thanks for that, by the way," he chuckled, seeming to enjoy my embarrassment. _

_I tried to look away, but his steel grasp held my face still as he leaned over the table and kissed me._

**xoxox**

Ever since I'd met Zack, I'd known that we were different. Completely. If there was a scale to show how different we were, I'm sure we'd be on the opposite sides. He was playful and happy; I was shy and gloomy. I spent my time trying to not fail while Zack spent his time getting better at passing. Everywhere he went, he tried to pick up girls and told jokes, making the townspeople warm up to him. I would just stay by his side, his quiet little lackey. He knew what to do; I didn't.

And when we started running from ShinRa, he'd know exactly where the next stop should be and how to run from the Turks. He was constantly saving my life and gathering more information for me should I ever have to go on without him. During that time, I'd just realize how different we really were—Zack was the hero he wished he could be. I wasn't.

Small little things made me realize how much I didn't deserve him and how we were wrong for each other. The way he liked summer because of the sun and how happy everyone becomes, and how I always seemed to prefer colder weathers. How he liked going out to drink while I wanted to stay in, how he preferred to be constantly moving while I wanted to sit every now and then and so many other things. He liked rock music while I preferred slower things. He enjoyed fighting for the thrill and I hated anything violent. He liked spicy foods, but I liked sweets.

I could never really figure it out why he loved me.

Things got worse after he...left. I didn't want to move, I didn't want to hear sounds, I didn't want anything. I couldn't eat sweets or spicy foods or anything with flavor, really. It was all too much, too much for me to handle. I didn't want to remember him. Not him.

**xoxox**

"You don't like coffee?"

The words just like how I felt and maybe how I looked—incredulous. Leon doesn't like coffee? Doesn't he live off of it? It's well known that he almost killed Yuffie after she finished off the last bit of the coffee beans, but what? Turning it down? I might be going through a rare event. Especially since it's _Leon_ in _my_ house. True, he stopped by for the status report, but still… Odd.

Leon shrugged, pushing the mug away from him, rejecting it. He looked away, like he wasn't too sure of how to explain things. "Well, it's too bitter for me," he said simply.

I looked into the cup. Maybe he doesn't like it plain, with no flavor. That might help.

"Too much for you to handle?" I asked, picking up the cup carefully, to not burn myself.

Leon shrugged again. "I prefer sweets."

I pursed my lips, my heart thumping a little louder than usual. I leaned over and rapped my knuckles against Leon's head three times. He looked up, startled.

I wrapped my hand around his jaw and held it there while we kissed.


End file.
